It is looking extremely unlikely that Republicans and Democrats can agree on a plan by the end of the year. Britain went over its own fiscal cliff a couple of years ago. Since then, it has imposed a series of painful budget cuts.

The Russian Parliament Wednesday unanimously passed a measure that bans Americans from adopting Russian children. New York Times Moscow correspondent David Hoszenhorn speaks with Host Lisa Mullins about the political motivations and implications.

Alexander D'Jamoos is one of the many Russian children who have been adopted in the United States in the past 20 years. D'Jamoos has written a letter to President Putin asking him not to sign the law banning Americans from adopting Russian children.

Lisa Mullins speaks with George Friedman of the global intelligence firm StratFor. Friedman believes the international community has to come to grips with the fact that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been reduced to a warlord.

Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with physicist Lisbeth Gronlund of the Union of Concerned Scientists about her new study on the likely number of cancer deaths caused by Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident.

In the 1930s in Germany, anti-semitism was all-pervasive, and part of that can be attributed to pop culture. A commercially successful board game for example called "Juden Raus" (Jews Out) became a pastime of German families.

Australia's Quantas Airlines has ditched its 17-year alliance with British Airways to partner with Emirates Airline. That means its twice-daily 'kangaroo route' from Sydney to London will stop in Dubai instead of Singapore.

Anchor Lisa Mullins has details on President Obama's naming today of two special envoys. Former US ambassador Richard Holbrooke will be focusing on relations with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Former Senator George Mitchell will work on Middle East peace.